JP2005249485A - Voice guidance method of onboard navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a voice guidance method of an onboard navigation system for performing the proper voice guidance corresponding to the results of judgement whether the facility of a land mark used for the voice guidance can be seen or not by a driver. <P>SOLUTION: The control part of the onboard navigation system calculates the distance from the car to the next cross point for voice guidance while running along the guided route. When the car reaches within the prescribed distance from the car to the cross point of the voice guidance point, a land mark adjacent to the cross point is set up as a voice guidance land mark, thereafter determines whether the voice guidance land mark can be seen from the car or not, if determined that it can be seen, the voice guidance message using the voice guidance land mark is created, if determined that it cannot be seen, the voice guidance message using the building hiding the voice guidance land mark is created and outputted from the speaker. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a voice guidance method for an in-vehicle navigation apparatus that performs voice guidance of a guidance route using a building or the like as a landmark as a landmark.

  The in-vehicle navigation device includes a map data storage device such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or hard disk on which map data is recorded, a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, a gyro, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver and a vehicle speed sensor. And a vehicle position detection device that detects the current position of the vehicle and the direction of the vehicle. Then, map data including the current position of the vehicle is read from the map data storage device, a map image around the current position of the vehicle is drawn based on the map data and displayed on the display device, and a vehicle position mark (location) Is displayed superimposed on the map image, the map image is scrolled according to the movement of the vehicle, the map image is fixed on the screen and the vehicle position mark is moved, and where the vehicle is currently traveling Can be seen at a glance.

  In general, the in-vehicle navigation device is equipped with a route guidance function that allows the user to easily travel to a desired destination without making a mistake on the road. According to this route guidance function, the lowest cost route connecting from the starting point to the destination using map data is automatically searched by performing simulation calculation such as horizontal search method or Dijkstra method, and the searched route is guided. It is memorized as a route, and when driving, the guidance route is displayed with a different color from other roads and drawn thickly, or when the vehicle approaches the intersection on the guidance route where it should turn right or left The user is guided to the destination by drawing an arrow indicating the course at the intersection on the map.

Cost is based on distance, road width, road type (general road or highway, etc.), a value multiplied by a constant according to right turn and left turn, etc., estimated travel time of vehicle, etc. The degree of appropriateness as a numerical value. Even if there are two routes having the same distance, the cost differs depending on whether the user uses a toll road or whether to give priority to distance or time.
JP 2000-131084 A

  By the way, in a general vehicle-mounted navigation device, a facility (store or the like) as a landmark is displayed as a landmark on a map, and voice guidance using the landmark is performed. For example, when a vehicle approaches an intersection where a vehicle should turn right (or turn left), the navigation apparatus sets a landmark (for example, a convenience store) near the intersection as a landmark (hereinafter referred to as a voice guidance landmark) that is used for voice guidance. , "Further turn right (left turn). Convenience store is a landmark." However, on a curved road, the landmark facility used for voice guidance may be hidden behind a building or the like and cannot be seen from the driver's seat, and the driver is confused because he does not know the intersection to turn right (or turn left). May end up. In particular, on roads with two or more lanes on one side, it may be determined whether or not the landmark is visible depending on the lane you are traveling. For example, when you are traveling in the right lane, you may check the landmark used for voice guidance. You can take action according to the voice guidance, but when you are driving in the left lane, you may not be able to confirm the landmark used for the voice guidance and may be confused.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-131084 proposes an in-vehicle navigation device that changes a voice guidance landmark according to a time zone. In this in-vehicle navigation device, for example, a car dealer is used as a voice guidance landmark during the daytime, and during a night time when the car dealer is closed, the convenience store that is in operation is used as a voice guidance landmark for voice guidance on the guidance route. However, even in the in-vehicle navigation device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-131084, the landmark facility used for voice guidance may not be visible from the driver's seat on a curved road, thus solving the above-mentioned problem Not what you want.

  As described above, the present invention provides a voice guidance method for an in-vehicle navigation device that determines whether or not a landmark facility used for voice guidance is visible to a driver and performs appropriate voice guidance according to the determination result. It is to be.

  In the voice guidance method of the in-vehicle navigation device that outputs the voice guidance using the landmark and guides the vehicle to the destination, whether the landmark facility used for the voice guidance can be seen from the vehicle or not is described above. This is solved by a voice guidance method for a vehicle-mounted navigation device, which determines and generates a voice guidance message based on the result.

  In the present invention, it is determined whether or not the landmark facility used for voice guidance is visible from the vehicle, and a voice guidance message is generated based on the result. Whether or not a landmark facility can be seen from a vehicle is determined by checking whether there is another building on the straight line connecting the current location of the vehicle and the location of the landmark facility using map data. To do. When it is determined that the landmark facility can be seen from the vehicle, a voice guidance message using the landmark is generated and output by voice. On the other hand, when it is determined that the landmark facility cannot be seen from the vehicle, for example, a voice guidance message using a building that hides the landmark facility is generated and output by voice.

  This provides voice guidance using landmark facilities that can be seen from the vehicle, so that the vehicle driver can accurately grasp the guidance point and avoid the vehicle from leaving the guidance route. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device that implements the voice guidance method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes an operation unit provided with various operation buttons and the like for operating the navigation apparatus body 10 to be described later. A GPS receiver 4 receives a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite and detects a current position (latitude / longitude) of the vehicle. Reference numeral 5 denotes a self-contained navigation sensor, and the self-contained navigation sensor 5 includes an angle sensor 5a such as a gyro that detects a vehicle rotation angle, and a travel distance sensor 5b that generates a pulse every certain travel distance.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel. The navigation device body 10 displays a map of an area including the current position of the vehicle on the display device 7, and displays a guidance route from the departure point to the destination, a vehicle position mark, and other guidance information. Reference numeral 9 denotes a speaker for providing guidance information to the driver by voice.

  The navigation device body 10 is composed of the following. Reference numeral 11 denotes an HDD (hard disk drive) that stores map data, and reference numeral 12 denotes a buffer memory that temporarily stores map data read from the HDD 11.

  The map data recorded on the HDD 11 is divided into latitude and longitude widths of appropriate sizes according to the scale level such as 1/12500, 1/25000, 1/50000, and 1/100000. It is stored as a coordinate set of vertices (nodes) expressed by latitude and longitude. A road is formed by connecting a plurality of nodes, and a portion connecting two nodes is called a link. The map data includes stereoscopic display data for stereoscopically displaying buildings and the like, and landmark data for displaying facilities (landmarks) as landmarks on the map as icons. The landmark data is composed of data indicating the position (latitude / longitude data), name, and type (type of convenience store, gas station, bank, family restaurant, etc.) for each facility, icon data, and the like.

  Reference numeral 13 denotes an interface connected to the operation unit 3, reference numeral 14 denotes an interface connected to the GPS receiver 4, and reference numeral 15 denotes an interface connected to the autonomous navigation sensor 5.

  Reference numeral 17 denotes a control unit constituted by a microcomputer. The control unit 17 detects the current position of the vehicle based on signals input from the interfaces 14 and 15, reads map data in a predetermined range from the HDD 11 to the buffer memory 12, and map data read to the buffer memory 12. Various processes such as searching for a guidance route from the starting point to the destination are performed under the search conditions set using.

  19 is a map drawing unit that draws a map image using the map data read to the buffer memory 12, and 21 is a drawing of various menu screens (operation screens) and various marks such as a vehicle position mark and a cursor according to the operation status. This is an operation screen / mark drawing unit.

  22 is a guide route storage unit that stores the guide route searched by the control unit 17, and 23 is a guide route drawing unit that draws the guide route. In the guide route storage unit 22, all nodes of the guide route searched by the control unit 17 are stored from the departure point to the destination. The guide route drawing unit 23 reads the guide route information (node sequence) from the guide route storage unit 22 and draws it with a color and thickness different from those of other roads.

  Reference numeral 24 denotes an image composition unit. The image composition unit 24 displays various marks and operation screens drawn by the operation screen / mark drawing unit 21 on the map image drawn by the map drawing unit 19, or a guide route drawn by the guide route drawing unit 23. The images are superimposed and output to the display device 7. An audio output unit 25 supplies an audio signal to the speaker 9 based on a signal from the control unit 17.

  In the vehicle-mounted navigation device configured as described above, the control unit 17 detects the current position of the vehicle and the direction of the vehicle from the GPS signal received by the GPS receiver 4 and the signal input from the autonomous navigation sensor 5. Then, the map data of the area including the current position of the vehicle is read from the HDD 11 to the buffer memory 12. The map drawing unit 19 generates a map image based on the map data read into the buffer memory 12 and displays a map image around the current position of the vehicle on the display device 7. Thereafter, the control unit 17 superimposes and displays a vehicle position mark indicating the current position of the vehicle on the map image, and moves the vehicle position mark on the map image as the vehicle moves or scrolls the map image. .

  When the user operates the operation unit 3 to set a destination, the control unit 17 searches for a guidance route from the departure point to the destination under a preset condition using the current position of the vehicle as a departure point. The guidance route obtained by the above is stored in the guidance route storage unit 22. And the control part 17 outputs guidance information suitably with a driving | running | working of a vehicle, and guides a vehicle to drive | work along a guidance route to the destination.

  Hereinafter, the voice guidance method of the vehicle-mounted navigation device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling along the guidance route. Here, a case will be described in which a point for voice guidance (voice guidance point) is an intersection to be turned left or right on the guidance route.

  First, in step S11, the control unit 17 calculates the distance to the intersection of the next voice guidance point. That is, the control unit 17 detects the latitude / longitude of the current position of the vehicle from the outputs of the GPS receiver 4 and the self-contained navigation center 5. Then, the control unit 17 refers to the guidance route information stored in the guidance route storage unit 22 and calculates the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the intersection of the next voice guidance point.

  In addition, after detecting the latitude / longitude of the current position of the vehicle based on the outputs of the GPS receiver 4 and the self-contained navigation center 5, the current position of the vehicle is corrected on the road using the map data (map matching). Is preferred. Further, when the vehicle is traveling on a road having two or more lanes on one side, it is preferable that the control unit 17 determines which lane the vehicle is traveling based on the current position of the vehicle.

  Next, in step S12, the control unit 17 determines whether or not the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the intersection of the next voice guidance point is within a certain range (for example, 300 m or less). If not (NO), the process returns to Step S11. If it is determined that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the intersection of the next voice guidance point is within a certain range (YES), Step S13 is performed. Migrate to

  In step S13, the control unit 17 extracts landmarks near the intersection of the voice guidance points. In this case, a landmark adjacent to the intersection of the voice guidance points is used as a landmark (voice guidance landmark) used for voice guidance. When there is no landmark adjacent to the intersection of the voice guidance point, the landmark nearest to the intersection among the landmarks on the left side of the road (when the vehicle is on the left side) is set as the voice guidance landmark. Here, it is assumed that the convenience store 31 adjacent to the intersection of the voice guidance points is set as the voice guidance landmark as shown in FIG.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S <b> 14, and the control unit 17 determines whether or not the voice guidance landmark is visible from the current position of the vehicle 30. As shown in FIG. 3A, when there is no other building 32 on the straight line connecting the current position of the vehicle 30 and the voice guidance landmark (convenience store 31), the voice guidance land is determined from the current position of the vehicle 30. It is determined that the mark (convenience store 31) is visible (YES), and the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S15, the control unit 17 controls the voice output unit 25 to generate a voice guidance message using the voice guidance landmark. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S <b> 16, and a voice signal corresponding to the voice guidance message is output from the voice output unit 25 to the speaker 9. As a result, a message such as “soon to turn left. Convenience store is a landmark” is output from the speaker 9 by voice. An example of the scenery seen from the vehicle and the voice guidance message at this time is schematically shown in FIG. In FIG. 3B, a portion surrounded by a broken-line circle is a convenience store set as a voice guidance landmark.

  On the other hand, in step S14, if there is another building 32 on the straight line connecting the current position of the vehicle 30 and the voice guidance point (convenience store 31) as shown in FIG. It is determined that the facility set as the voice guidance landmark cannot be seen from the current position (NO). And it transfers to step S17 and the control part 17 controls the audio | voice output part 25, and produces | generates the message for voice guidance using the building which hides a voice guidance landmark. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S16, where a voice signal corresponding to the voice guidance message is output from the voice output unit 25 to the speaker 9. As a result, from the speaker 9, for example, “I will turn left soon, the building in front of the five-story building is a landmark.” Or “I will turn left soon. Is output by voice. An example of the scenery seen from the vehicle and the voice guidance message at this time is schematically shown in FIG. A convenience store 31 set as a voice guidance landmark is hidden behind a portion surrounded by a broken-line circle in FIG.

  If building information (such as a building name) that hides the facility of the voice guidance landmark is stored in the map data in the HDD 11, information on the building is acquired from the map data and used for voice guidance. A message may be generated. In this case, the speaker 9 outputs a voice guidance such as “Soon a left turn. The XX building in front is a landmark”.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 17 in the navigation apparatus body 10 determines whether or not the facility set as the voice guidance landmark is visible from the current position of the vehicle, and generates a voice guidance message according to the result. As a result, the driver can travel along the guidance route without making a mistake in the right or left intersection.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the voice guidance message is generated inside the in-vehicle navigation device, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the navigation device 35 mounted on the vehicle 30 and the outside of the vehicle are arranged. Communication is performed with the information center 40, and a voice guidance message is generated by the server 41 in the information center 40 and transmitted to the in-vehicle navigation device 35.

  Map data, landmark data, and the like are recorded in the server 41 of the information center 40. The map data, landmark data, etc. recorded in the server 41 are always updated to the latest.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device that implements the voice guidance method of the second embodiment. The in-vehicle navigation device shown in FIG. 6 is different from the in-vehicle navigation device shown in FIG. 1 in that it includes an interface 12 for connecting a communication device 2 such as a mobile phone. 1 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same components in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The control unit 17 of the navigation apparatus body 10 establishes communication connection with the server 41 of the information center 40 via the communication device 2 when the vehicle approaches a certain distance (for example, 300 m or less) to the next voice guidance point intersection. The data indicating the current position of the vehicle 30 and the traveling direction is transmitted.

  When the server 41 of the information center 40 receives the data indicating the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle 30 from the in-vehicle navigation device 35, the landmark in the vicinity of the intersection of the voice guidance points is extracted and used as the voice guidance landmark. . Then, using the map data, whether the voice guidance landmark is visible from the current position of the vehicle 30, that is, whether there is another building on the straight line connecting the voice guidance landmark and the current position of the vehicle 30. And a voice guidance message is generated according to the result.

  The voice signal of the voice guidance message generated by the server 41 of the information center 40 is transmitted to the in-vehicle navigation device 35 via the communication device 2. The control unit 17 of the in-vehicle navigation device 35 outputs the audio signal sent from the information center 40 to the speaker 9 via the audio output unit 25.

  In this embodiment, since the voice guidance message is generated by the server 41 of the information center 40, voice guidance using the latest data becomes possible. For example, if it is determined that a voice guidance landmark can be seen from the current position of the vehicle, a voice guidance such as “Turn left immediately. The convenience store with the XX campaign signboard is a landmark” is output. If it is determined that the voice guidance landmark cannot be seen from the current position, a message such as "Soon turn left. A five-story building with a xx sign on the left side of the road is a landmark" can be output. Thus, the vehicle driver can more easily check the facility (landmark) that is the landmark of the intersection.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device that implements the voice guidance method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the voice guidance method of the vehicle-mounted navigation device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between the vehicle and the voice guidance landmark (convenience store) when the voice guidance landmark is visible from the vehicle, and FIG. 3B is a view and voice guidance similarly seen from the vehicle. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example with these messages. FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between the vehicle and the voice guidance landmark (convenience store) when the voice guidance landmark cannot be seen from the vehicle, and FIG. 4B is a view and voice similarly seen from the vehicle. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example with the message of guidance. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an information center that is connected for communication with the vehicle-mounted navigation device in the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device that implements the voice guidance method according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

2 ... Communicator,
3 ... operation part,
4 ... GPS receiver,
5 ... Self-contained navigation sensor,
7 ... display device,
9 ... Speaker 10 ... Navigation device body,
11 ... HDD (hard disk drive),
12 ... Buffer memory,
17 ... control unit,
19 ... Map drawing part,
21: Operation screen. Mark drawing section,
22 ... guide route storage unit,
23: Guide route drawing unit,
24. Image composition unit,
25. Audio output unit,
30 ... vehicle,
35 ... In-vehicle navigation device,
40 ... Information Center
41. Server.

Claims (7)

In a voice guidance method for an in-vehicle navigation device that outputs a voice guidance using a landmark to guide a vehicle to a destination,
A voice guidance method for a vehicle-mounted navigation device, wherein it is determined whether or not a landmark facility used for voice guidance is visible from a vehicle, and a voice guidance message is generated based on the result.   2. The voice guidance method for an in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1, wherein whether or not a landmark facility used for voice guidance is visible from the vehicle is determined inside the in-vehicle navigation device.   2. The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 1, wherein whether or not a landmark facility used for voice guidance is visible from the vehicle is determined in a server of an information center connected to the vehicle-mounted navigation device. A voice guidance method for a navigation device.   The voice guidance method for the in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 3, wherein the message at the time of the voice guidance is generated in a server of the information center and transmitted to the in-vehicle navigation device.   2. The voice guidance message using a building that hides the landmark facility is generated and output by voice when it is determined that the landmark facility is not visible from a vehicle. Voice guidance method for in-vehicle navigation device.   6. The voice of the in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 5, wherein information on a building that hides the landmark facility is acquired from map data of the in-vehicle navigation device, and the voice guidance message is generated. Guidance method.   The in-vehicle information according to claim 5, wherein information on a building concealing the landmark facility is acquired from a server of an information center that is communicatively connected to the in-vehicle navigation device, and the voice guidance message is generated. Voice guidance method for a navigation device for a vehicle.

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